The Newman Lab investigates the mechanics and neural control of intermittent mechanical contact, an activity inherent to legged locomotion and tool manipulation in both humans and robots.

Research Aim 1: Understanding human interaction with objects that have complex dynamics

Understanding Human Manipulation in a Complex Manufacturing Test in an Effort to Improve Human-Robot Collaboration

Wire-harness installation is currently a complex manual manipulation task in the manufacturing process of large electrical systems. Simply put, wire

Dynamic primitives in human-object physical interaction

Humans are capable of skillfully manipulating complex objects with their own internal dynamics, such as moving a sloshing cup of

Human manipulation on complex objects – Whipping

Our research goal is to explicate the whipping action in the words of dynamic primitives – submovement, oscillation and impedance. The reason

Human Inspired Control Strategies for Robots Performing Constrained Motion Tasks

While robot performance has seen huge improvements over the past several decades, humans still vastly outperform them at tasks that

Circularly Constrained Motion

Motor neuroscience research is primarily composed of studies investigating unconstrained motion.  Yet, interaction with constraints are essential aspects of everyday

Research Aim 2: Understanding the fundamentals of human locomotion

Human Balance Control in Challenging Environment with/without Physical Assistance

Humans exhibit remarkable locomotion capabilities that out-perform modern robots, while considering the complexity of the musculo-skeletal system and its ‘slow’

Characterization of the Dynamics of the Human Ankle

  In human locomotion, we continuously modulate joint mechanical impedance of the lower limb (hip, knee, and ankle) either voluntarily

Studying Human Gait Entrainment to Assistive Robotic Input

While rehabilitation of upper-limb motor function with human-interactive robots has been met with success, robot-aided locomotor rehabilitation has proven challenging. Conventional therapeutic

Testing and benchmarking decomposition approaches of motor signals during dynamic movements for intent reconstruction

Many lower extremity exoskeletons assist in locomotion, but for this to be possible, the exoskeleton must work in synchrony with

Frequency-Dependent Force Direction Elucidates Neural Control of Balance

Balance is an unstable task that requires control of translational and rotational motions. Humans use foot-ground interaction force, characterized by

Research Aim 3: Advancing human rehabilitation with robotic therapy

State-of-the-art Upper Extremity Rehabilitation Robot.

This project strives to develop an inertia compensator for the InMotion2 planar robot for use in studies with human interaction.

Non-Contact Estimation of Limb Impedance

For robotic systems to interact with or learn from the actions of surrounding humans, it is important that they can